Filters are the life of your pickup truck, it can be short or long

Truck Oil, Filters & Diesel LongevityFilters, oil and air are cheaper than a mechanic

What do you need to know about diesel fuel, winter, maintenance? Read about filters and oil while you’re here. Scroll down Duramax owners, I’ve got good news for you! More on oil for gas engines below.

“Filters are the life of your truck, it can be short or long!”
If you have never experienced gelling up a diesel in the winter, be happy. I have had this experience on my farm tractors. I had to use a hair dryer to liquidify the fuel in the injector pump and then “crack” the fuel lines to bleed the fuel through the pump and injectors. Most states don’t get cold enough to plug in the block heater on your diesel. But if you are in the colder areas and need to plug in your diesel, I like to use a timer you can buy from Wal-Mart for $12 to $15. You only need to set the timer to turn on for a couple of hours before you’re ready to use your truck.Because diesels explode fuel instead of igniting it like gas engines, they need the heat from glow plugs or manifold heaters to aid in warming up the cylinders for starting. In very cold conditions, (-10 F) you will need to plug in block heaters and be sure you are using blended fuel, #2 and #1. Normally diesels run on #2 diesel. #2 has lubricating qualities that make it oily, smelly and stays on your hands for a few days. #1 diesel is like kerosene or jet fuel and less oily. The lubricating properties in #2 are what gels when extremely cold. This is why a blend of #2 and #1 50/50 is used in the winter by most service stations in states that get cold. But if you go to a warm state, (California, Arizona, Florida, etc,) in the winter and buy fuel there before coming home, you may want to use a diesel additive. If you are out of your area, buy your diesel at a truck stop. They should know what you need. Then Oil is the life of your truck. In a Ford Power Stroke diesel, engine oil provides the pressure for the injectors and with the 6.0L PS, it also powers the EVRT turbo. My research lead me to Amsoil, the pioneer in synthetic oil.

In my research to find the best truck products available to sell on my web site, I looked for the best filters and oil. These products we all need on a regular basis and they are a major factor in how long your truck will last. Just as we all know about the exaggerated stories we are told about trucks by salespeople, the same wild stories are told about filters and oil. I have seen and used the best and the worst. Decades ago I remember John Deere bringing a lawsuit because Coop was guaranteeing their oil in diesel engines longer than manufactures wanted to guarantee their engines. And back then manufactures tried to make you use their brand of oil, (even though they didn’t make it,) in order to enforce their warranty. It evolves around forcing you to buy their products. Like auto dealers telling you, you have to change your oil every 3000 miles so they can make more money off you in their service departments. Read more about“The Truth about Oil.”

If you want to join the “300,000 mile plus club,” here are the rules.

The diesels I used on the farm were the most expensive equipment I had. I paid close attention to maintenance. Filters were a lot cheaper than diesel mechanics and who could afford the downtime!

I’m still learning. When I as a feed manager for a cattle feedlot a few decades ago, they sent me to oil school. I learned about API (American Petroleum Institute) and SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) and pour rates and viscosity and sulfur content and all that. Each year I learn a little more about oil and filters.

Manufactures are coming around. Ford was probably the pickiest with synthetics. The Ford Power Stroke diesel by Navistar, uses engine oil pressure to activate the diesel injectors. But you can use a long lasting high quality synthetic. You will see more recommendations of synthetics by manufactures. Now Ford recommends only synthetic oil in their new 4.6L all aluminum V-8 in the 2002 Explorer and even in a Ford Focus car, the recommended oil for a transaxle is synthetic oil.

I run into this dilemma all the time about aftermarket add-ons and maintenance schedules and warrantees. There are laws to protect your rights to be active in deciding what’s best for your truck. The burden of proof is with the dealers and manufactures and it has to be in writing. We can help you not be abused by dealer tactics. Amsoil stands by their warranty.

You are the one who pays for maintenance. With the right oil, and the right filters, you’re on your way to getting the best value and lowest cost per mile. You will be able to service your vehicles less often, saving time and money. On my farm and ranch, trucks had to pay for themselves. I wish I had Amsoil then. Of course I’d still be driving some of my pickups from the “seventies!”

I serve a 90 mile mail route in eastern Colorado. I still have my 1985 Jeep Cherokee with 158,000 miles on the odometer. I started with 101,000 miles. At 137,000 miles I switched to Amsoil. I changed the filter after 12,000 miles and now have 19,000 on the oil change. I know it says to change at six months which I plan to do but I will send a sample to be analyzed. Before, when using Castrol GTX. I had to add oil every 2,000 miles. I add oil every 7,000 with the Amsoil. I have been completely satisfied with the product and will use it in all my vehicles in the future. Thank you Mr. Truck for leading me to this great product. Paul G.

If you’re not ready to try synthetic oils yet, start by checking out the quality of the filters. I couldn’t find better filters or a better warranty. The internet gives you so much information. Each company has their sales pitch. Look for the standardized tests and make sure the products involved are the latest models. I see comparisons all the time where company A is comparing it’s best new product to company B’s old model.

GM Duramax Owners help is on the way!

Protect your investment.

On my farm I had Chevy 454 cu and 366 cu. engines. The 366 was in a medium duty 2 ton truck, (C65.). The 454 cu engine was in a 1 ton truck, (C30.) These engines were very similar. The 366 cu used a heavy-duty 2-quart oil filter. The 454 cu called for a 1-quart filter. The 366 cu seemed to last longer and have less down time. Since the engines are practically the same I started using the same oil filters on both of them. This at least gave me one more quart of oil for the 454 cu engine to help cool it down, filter more and dilute the dirt in the oil. One problem with GM, they never have the oil capacity. The same size engine as Ford usually holds a quart less oil. I like more oil. There is a reason semi-trucks hold over 20 quarts of oil. I’m thinking the same thing now for the GM Duramax diesel. The 5.9L Cummins in the Dodge holds 12 quarts, the 7.3L Power Stroke in the Ford holds 15 quarts and the GM Duramax once again only holds 10 quarts. I’ve looked up under the Duramax and there is plenty of room for a longer filter. Dodge and Ford already have a 2-quart filter.

Amsoil has a way to increase your Duramax’s oil capacity and your other trucks. It’s a kit that screws into your present oil filter base and flows thru two filters, one a full flow filter, the other a bypass filter. This will give you an extra two quarts of extra engine oil to cool and lubricate. The bypass filter will remove particles down to 1/10th of a micron (nearly 100% of particles down to 3 microns). The majority of full flow filters on the market are still based upon a cellolose media which will be efficient down to about 25 microns at best, most are more like 30 to 40 microns.

Some oil filters such as the AMSOIL SDF, Mobil 1 High Efficiency and AC Delco UltraGuard Gold use a glass, synthetic fiber and cellolose blend media which offers high efficiency filtration which will remove the majority of particulate matter down to about 10 to 15 microns.

Protect your investment, increase you oil capacity two quarts with the best filters you can buy. Check out the following description and pictures of the oil filter conversion. The conversion part # is BMK-17, the full flow filter is SDF26, and the bypass filter isBE-100. Stay tuned for more products to protect your Duramax!

Pulling trailers stresses your truck. I know I’ve stressed the heck out of a lot of them. Install the Amsoil bypass system filter kit and add years to your trucks engine. Double your oil filter capacity and dramatically increase the filtering efficiency and increase your trucks engine life. And you don’t have to do those messy oil changes as often.

Bypass Oil Filter Mounting Kits
Engine wear is caused by dirt particles larger than 5 microns. The AMSOIL By-Pass Oil Filter removes particles as small as 1/10 of a micron, virtually eliminating engine wear. AMSOIL By-Pass Oil Filters filter all the oil in a six-quart system in about five minutes at an average engine speed equivalent to 45 mph.BMK By-Pass Mounting Kits Available In Store(Buy Now)

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

The AMSOIL By-Pass Oil Filter provides the best possible filtration protection against wear, oil degradation, rust and corrosion. Working in conjunction with the engine’s full-flow oil filter, the AMSOIL By-Pass Filter operates by filtering oil on a “partial-flow” basis. It draws approximately ten percent of the oil at any one time and traps the extremely small, wear-causing contaminants and water that full-flow filters can’t remove. The AMSOIL By-Pass Filter typically filters all the oil in the system several times an hour, so the engine continuously receives analytically clean oil.

Reduces Wear

Approximately 60 percent of all engine wear is caused by dirt particles in the 5 to 20 micron range. These particles can get inside the precision clearances between engine components and cause severe damage. While full-flow oil filters generally stop contaminants no smaller than 25 to 40 microns, the AMSOIL By-Pass Filter effectively stops particles smaller than one micron in size, substantially reducing engine wear.

Prevents Oil Degradation, Rust and Corrosion

Water enters motor oil as a combustion by-product or as a condensate. Water contamination of the motor oil can cause extreme engine damage. Water causes metal surface rust and corrosion, which increases friction and wear and deteriorates the close-fitting tolerances between engine components. In addition, water reacts with other oil contaminants to form corrosive acids, which also damage metal components. The AMSOIL By-Pass Filter removes water, reducing the risk of oil degradation, engine rust and corrosion.

Extends Oil Drain Intervals

Because the AMSOIL By-Pass Oil Filter removes water and particles smaller than one micron, it significantly increases the time oil can safely be left in the engine. In fact , engines using AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oil and an AMSOIL By-Pass Oil Filter routinely show much lower rates of engine wear – even when the oil is used for significantly longer drain intervals – than engines using conventional products and conventional oil drain intervals. That saves motorists time and money and helps protect the environment by creating substantially less used oil.

Your vehicle is probably your second largest purchase with that wonderful monthly payment attached to it. A routine preventative maintenance schedule is your best assurance of years of pleasurable, virtually trouble free driving. Prevent major repairs, increase reliability, durability and resale value. Then when your truck is twenty years old, you can put it on my page 4, “For sale one owner, 300,000 miles runs great!”

“Mr Truck, I just purchased 99 F250 diesel. I was wondering what the best choices are for oil and filters for this truck are? I have to get a owners manual for it. Thanks Bob p.s. I,ve just found your site an it’s great!”

“Hi Bob, I was looking for filters too. Filters are the life of your truck. I’ve seen pathetic filters after you cut one open and I’ve seen major oil brands that are supposedly used in race cars that totally clog things up. I guess they might work in a race car, seeing how it will get overhauled after the race anyway. The discount auto parts store where I’d been buying a German oil filter that I liked, switched to the worst oil filter I could think of, I decided it was time to find the best oil and filters and but them on my web site. (I’m almost done preaching,) It took about 6 months to settle on a brand. And I decided to settle on a synthetic. I remember when synthetics first came out. There was a national brand that introduced a oil that wouldn’t need changed for 25,000 miles. Funny thing happened a few months later. It seemed that the oil companies figured out that changing oil more often made them more money than this 25,000 mile thing. So then that company changed their claims to 5,000 miles or what ever the wise auto manufactures might recommend. Well anyway it’s your $4000 diesel and you know what I think about believing what corporate America thinks is best for me, like watching pizza commercials and getting hungry. I built a page just for oil and filters because it is very important. Go there and see what I recommend and ask questions, if I don’t know the answers I’ll get them for you. Don’t forget to check out the life time air filters too. How many miles does your truck have on it now? There are some things you can and cannot do depending on the mileage. Conventional oil used for 80 -90,000 miles, may have dry, cracked seals and gaskets. Having used conventional oils for so long (even with 3,000 mile oil changes), the sludge and deposits from oil burn-off may have caused a build-up to occur which is plugging the gaps around these seals and gaskets and preventing leaks. Check out this page. I want to see you in the 300,000 mile club! Good Truck’n. MT”

“Ok, MrTruck my 99 F250 has 81,000 miles on it. I have no idea what was used in it. The truck is new looking clean in engine area, not pressure cleaned. What do you recommend I do to make this my last truck. I believe, in one of your articles that the detergent in synthetics would break loose deposits causing pluggage of oil ports?”

“Hi, actually the better synthetic oil will clean up the deposits and tarnish that petroleum build up over the years. These deposits harden the seals and cover them so now they are part of the engine. If you switch to a good synthetic oil after that has happened, which usually is after about 80,000 miles, the synthetic oil will clean up the deposits and tarnish which could cause the hardened seals to leak. This is why sometimes you buy a vehicle and switch brands of oil, it will cause the engine to use more oil. Even different oil brands have enough different additives though they are the same SAE rating that they react with each other and break down some of the tarnish and sludge deposits. With the miles on your truck I would recommend blending synthetic with petro oil or buying a blend. You can’t go as long as with a straight synthetic but longer than just petro oil. I certainly recommend the Amsoil filters to get the longest life out of your investment in your truck. If you find better filters let me know. That’s how this started, I tried to find better filters. Sounds like you’re on your way to the 300,000 mile club. MT”

“Love your web site and the article about women and trucks. I have an older vehicle, 1988 F-250 Diesel purchased in Tampa, Florida in 1995 (feel comfortable with it as I’m an older model myself…almost 70), along with a 1985 5th wheel RV. Miss Sadie is my German Shepherd and only companion, but we travel all over the western states now and still have a good time. I have been using Amsoil products in my vehicle since the week after I bought it, and am very happy with the results…wouldn’t use anything else. I was introduced to owning a diesel (and using Amsoil products), by a friend and Amsoil Dealer, TG of Tampa. I can’t thank him enough. I love my diesel and it’s performance. I bought the shop manuals after the truck purchase…and do the maintenance and most of the repair work myself…love learning about my truck. Thanks for a great web site…will ad it to my ‘favorites’. GA”

Extend oil change intervals to 25,000 miles and beyond. With a by-pass oil filtration system some people have gone 200,000 thousand miles or more without an oil change.When you use extremely high quality additives that don’t break down, 7 different synthetic base stocks that don’t cause gum, sludge, and other contaminates to form AND you keep the oil “squeeky clean” at all times (backed by oil analysis) you really don’t need to change the oil!

Reduce oil consumption as much as 42% or more

Reduce necessity of frequent oil disposal

AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants will save you money and give you the peace of mind that comes from using the best. Today’s engines produce more power from a smaller radiator and a smaller volume of oil to cool and lubricate them. They need more protection from heat than conventional oils give them. Conventional oils keep engines from failing most of the time, but there’s a big difference between marginal failure prevention and the total wear protection that AMSOIL delivers!

AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants Provide:

Superior Stability:

You may lose about 1/5 the conventional oil you put in your engine because it boils off at engine operating temperatures. When that happens, oil consumption and engine deposits skyrocket, while wear protection and fuel economy plummet. AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants don’t boil off like conventional oils do. In fact, a recent laboratory test showed AMSOIL 100% Synthetic 10W-30 passed the stringent European volatility tests with an exceptionally low volatility of 5.9%.

Superior Wear Protection:

AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants provide a thick oil film every time your engine operates in high temperature, high speed or high load conditions, protecting your hard working engine from heat and wear.

Superior Fluidity:

AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants’ natural tenacity and anti-wear agents form a protective molecular layer on metal surfaces, protecting engines from initial start-up wear. And AMSOIL’s cold temperature fluidity gets the oil flowing throughout the engine fast for ready protection, even in the bitter cold.

Superior Overall Economy:

AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants are formulated so well, they can be used for 25,000 miles (35,000 miles with our new Series 2000 0W-30), or even more with a bypass filter and oil analysis. That saves you money and time on oil changes.

Superior Oxidation Resistance:

AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants resist oxidation and sludge formation so they keep engines clean and working right.

Superior Operating Temperature Range:

AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants reduce friction and heat more effectively than petroleum oils do. With AMSOIL, engines run cooler, wear less and get more horsepower and better mileage than they can with petroleum oils. And it doesn’t matter if it’s hot or cold outside. AMSOIL always helps engines run their best. AMSOIL remains stable in extreme heat and fluid in extreme cold.

Superior Fuel Mileage:

You may experience as much as a 5% increase in your fuel mileage with AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants (with our 0W-30 that increase could be from 10 to 40%). By boosting your vehicle’s mileage from 20 to 21 mpg (a 5% increase) at $1.20/gallon you would save $72.00 over 25,000 miles.

Huge Savings!!

The facts above tell it all. AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants will save you money on oil, gas, repairs, etc. And, they will save you an immense amount of time that would ordinarily be spent performing those oil changes and repairs. It’s a win-win situation. Why not give it a try? What have you got to lose? NOTHING!!!!

My dealer # is 1063230 when they ask for it.

Toll Free Ordering: 1-800-956-5695

The Best Oil and Filters“Uncle Jerry” farming the depleted soil. Not too many “Buffalo chips” left. This is where I would love to be! I could fill a web site about what I miss from turning over spring soil to sorting and branding cattle!

Gen-Y Hitch heavy duty adjustable drawbar for today’s powerful trailering trucks: These steel adjustable, multi-ball, multi-height, pintle, or weight distributing hitch is the highest trailer rated hitch I’ve seen. The one I’m using from Gen-Y Hitch is rated for a 16,000 lb. trailer with a 2 inch shank. For Class V receiver, 2.5 inch shank, trailer rating goes up to 20,000 lbs. Their newest hitch is the Torsion Flex Hitch that isolates how your trailer bounces verses your truck for a smoother ride. Read the review….Weigh-Safe: Do you know your trailer tongue weight, asks the judge? On a bumper pull trailer, if you have too little tongue weight, the trailer can sway and be dangerous. If you have too much trailer tongue weight, your truck or SUV will squat excessively, aim your headlights to the stars and stress your trucks rear axle, brakes and suspension. What you need to know….

Stable Boy Aluminum Modular Horse Stalls for your RV Toy Hauler: You can haul ATV’s, motorcycles, snowmobiles & golf carts. So why not use a RV toy hauler to haul horses? Imagine a 5th wheel RV, walking up to the bedroom, STANDING around the bed. The full story…The Fuel Box and new Dual Fuel Box: for tools and extra fuel to stay on the road longer. I like good tools, a tool box and fuel tank company in California makes this quality combo all in the US. It’s called The Fuel Box by Zylstra. The fuel tank is separate from the tool box.... Read more…Hyndsight Vision Systems, The Review…. the versatile on board camera you’ve been waiting for. We tried it out backing to a trailer, monitoring horses inside the trailer and watching traffic behind the horse trailer. I’m a fan of wireless camera’s. About the most useful tool you can find. We like the backup cameras on the new trucks we review. But they don’t stay on, as soon as you go forward, they shut off. Hyndsight stays on The Review….Tuson Sway Control, ultimate trailer sway control for safer trailer towing. A module that controls sway on bumper pull trailers. It will actually steer the trailer left and right to keep the trailer towing straight. More

The Flip-Over Ball gooseneck hitch converts to a smooth bed in seconds. Just rotate the handle and Flip the ball over. In seconds you can have a level bed for all those jobs when an ordinary hitch ball is always in the way. More...

Another short bed solution. Short bed truck hitch. Is it for you? See the story, Click for more...

25 to 50% longer tire life. Stop tire cupping, vibration and premature wear on those expensive truck, RV & trailer tires. Centramatic automatic wheel balancers have been saving money on tires for semi-trucks for over twenty years. Now you can automatically balance your tires, wheels, hub and rotors or drums while you drive. More

We decided to have our own towing test truck. Now we are going to keep the products on our own truck to be able to give a longer review and how things standup long term. Rest of the report

MrTruck.com Presents: New for the "EZ Connector Horse Expo Tour" Updates from each event, pictures & commentary, With the latest trailer safety and technology accessories on exhibit in our tour, come by our display. We'll be displaying some helpful technology for safe towing. Click for the "Tour" schedule,